Logan Andrew | FreeWire Magazine — Your News, Your Voice
BUCYRUS, OH — The week of February 17, 2026, marked a significant turning point for Bucyrus city leadership as Council and Committee meetings shifted from routine legislation to aggressive fiscal maneuvering. Faced with rising utility costs and a looming budget crunch, officials moved to modernize city services and scrutinized safety force spending. The atmosphere in the chambers reflected a broader attempt to change the city’s political culture, moving past previous years of dysfunction toward a more focused, if austere, legislative approach.
The most contentious moments occurred during Thursday’s Health and Safety and Finance committee meetings. Council member Robert Taylor presented a stark analysis of safety spending, revealing that in 2024, 11 out of 19 fire department employees earned over $100,000 due to overtime. Taylor argued that the city has fallen into a “vicious cycle” of automatically scheduling overtime to maintain a six-man shift, despite the union contract only requiring a five-man minimum. “We should not be paying time-and-a-half to maintain a sixth man if the contract doesn’t require it,” Taylor stated, emphasizing that transparency regarding these figures is essential for long-term community improvement, even if the “truth hurts” in the short term.
In a swift response, the Finance Committee moved to unappropriate $120,000 from the Safety Forces levy line item. While the discussion centered on fire department overtime, the move carries broader implications for the city’s emergency services. Because both police and fire departments are funded from this shared line item, the unappropriation equally affects both forces. Critics of the move expressed concern that the reduction might not curb overtime but instead exhaust the fund entirely by September or October, potentially leaving all safety forces in a precarious financial position late in the year.
Taylor signaled that this is only the beginning of a deeper fiscal audit, promising similar scrutiny for the Police and Water departments. This push for fiscal austerity coincided with a move toward modernization as the Service Committee looked at city services as a path to savings. Service Director Starner proposed a total overhaul of the city’s trash collection, moving to an automated “one-man” system.
The plan involves purchasing two new trucks equipped with robotic arms and providing standard 90-gallon cans to all residents. The city expects this transition to save approximately $157,000 annually in personnel costs and significantly reduce the risk of worker injuries. To fund the new fleet, a $1 monthly increase in garbage rates was proposed. These adjustments reflect a broader theme of re-evaluating long-standing financial commitments, a sentiment echoed by Mayor Bruce Truka earlier in the week regarding regional partnerships.
Mayor Truka addressed a growing dispute with the Crawford County Board of Health, revealing that Bucyrus has contributed $650,000 more to the Board than its neighboring communities over the last decade. Citing this imbalance, the Mayor declined a request to reopen the health department contract for additional funding, asserting the city is already doing more than its fair share. Infrastructure needs are driving rate changes elsewhere, as the city’s storm water fund, which hasn’t seen an increase in 23 years, is slated for a rise from $4 to $6. According to consultant Dylan Wyatt, the increase is a mandatory prerequisite for securing Ohio EPA loans for the upcoming Sandusky Avenue improvement projects.
The debate over fiscal responsibility even reached the wages of elected officials. While Taylor proposed a 50% pay cut for most elected positions to avoid appearing hypocritical while asking for other cuts, the motion died for lack of a second. The discussion underscored the delicate balance leadership must strike: cutting excess where possible without undermining the functional roles of the city’s legislative body.
The week also saw a defense of city tourism efforts. Randy Fischer and Becky Lutz addressed recent criticisms of consultant Elaine Naples, clarifying that her contract was with the Chamber of Commerce rather than the city directly. They highlighted her success in bringing state-wide visibility to Bucyrus, including a feature in a PBS documentary that provided the city with “publicity you just can’t buy.” As the city prepares for these transitions, several items remain on the horizon, including addressing non-payment issues at county-inherited sewer plants in Sugar Grove and appropriating $21,500 in donations for the K9 program. The aggressive unappropriations and service overhauls signal a new era of fiscal management in Bucyrus, as leadership attempts to balance the books while modernizing aging infrastructure.
About The Author
